Mike Nolan

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  • in reply to: Almost A Disaster #11687
    Mike Nolan
    Keymaster

      Hmm, yeast dies at 138 degrees, which is more than just 'warm' milk.

      in reply to: What are you baking the week of March 18th, 2018? #11686
      Mike Nolan
      Keymaster

        I'll be making banana nut mini-muffins tonight, I've got enough ripe bananas for a good sized batch of them.

        in reply to: What are You Cooking the Week of March 18, 2018? #11682
        Mike Nolan
        Keymaster

          I tried a chicken experiment tonight.

          I took 2 bone-in chicken breasts, skinned them, placed them on a bed of shredded carrot, spinach, celery seeds and mustard powder, sprayed the breasts with oil, dusted them with dill weed and poured in some white wine. Then I threw it in the oven for about an hour at 350.

          Smelled great, probably needed more wine so there was more sauce and it could probably have used more carrots and spinach as well, but it was quite good. Served it with a salad.

          in reply to: What are you baking the week of March 18th, 2018? #11665
          Mike Nolan
          Keymaster

            A lot of breads come out of the oven with a fairly hard outer crust, but it softens up as the bread cools. The recipe I use for sandwich loaves is like that. The Clonmel Double Crust recipe stays a bit firmer, but I like the taste of it as Vienna bread. (Some years ago I made a batch of it and a batch of Peter Reinhart's Vienna Bread recipe from BBA, and the Clonmel version won a blind taste test.)

            in reply to: Sponge starter… #11664
            Mike Nolan
            Keymaster

              I know one bakery whose sourdough feeding schedule is roughly this:

              10AM: Feed the starter, doubling it in size. (He says he maintains about 40 quarts of starter, so after he feeds it he probably has 5 or 6 big tubs of it.)

              2AM: Take half of the starter, about 20 quarts, as the beginning of that day's bread.

              in reply to: Buttermilk? #11658
              Mike Nolan
              Keymaster

                As I understand it, the legal meaning of the date printed on a milk carton varies from state to state, but in general it is a 'sell by' date, not a 'use by' date.

                Buttermilk, being a cultured product, like sour cream or yogurt, seems to have a much longer shelf life than fresh milk does, so the date printed on the carton may be of little help to consumers.

                in reply to: The 2018 Gardens #11654
                Mike Nolan
                Keymaster

                  I suspect the neighborhood birds would have a field day with blueberries, they get about half of the black raspberries. I planted elderberries, there are never any that even get purple before the birds descend upon the bushes. (Elderberries are one of the favorite foods of cardinals, and we have at least two breeding pair in our yard.)

                  in reply to: The 2018 Gardens #11642
                  Mike Nolan
                  Keymaster

                    This site says that blueberries are self-pollinating but that you get bigger berries if they're pollinated from a second variety. (But both varieties have to be in bloom at the same time, of course.)

                    I've never grown blueberries, how long is the harvesting season?

                    in reply to: Sponge starter… #11641
                    Mike Nolan
                    Keymaster

                      190-205 is a rather wide range. I don't doubt that Hamelman never uses temperature, he's baking in quantities and using equipment and techniques that help ensure consistency from one day to another.

                      In his book he says that the internal temperature of bread reaches a maximum of about 210 degrees. The surface temperature gets hotter, though.

                      in reply to: What are you baking the week of March 18th, 2018? #11632
                      Mike Nolan
                      Keymaster

                        I've been using the KAF Whole Grains book recipe for Hot Cross Buns for a number of years, it's the best one I've found. I grind my own whole wheat flour, though, and I think freshly ground flour has a higher moisture content, so I haven't noticed the dough being dry.

                        I divide the dough into 32 parts (about 1.5 ounces each) and bake them in 6" round pans, 8 rolls per pan, for about 30 minutes.

                        in reply to: The 2018 Gardens #11627
                        Mike Nolan
                        Keymaster

                          There are a number of fruits that need a separate pollinator. Usually the nursery catalogs are pretty good at letting you know what you need.

                          in reply to: Sponge starter… #11625
                          Mike Nolan
                          Keymaster

                            Rye starters are definitely possible, Jeffrey Hamelman brought one with him when he went to work for King Arthur Flour that he's had for many years.

                            But like any starter, it needs regular feeding, probably several times a week. Will you be making rye bread often enough to justify that?

                            Although most procedures for maintaining a starter at home have you throw half of it away every time you feed it, commercial bakers don't do it that way (they couldn't afford to), so what they do is feed their starter anywhere from 18-24 hours before they plan to bake a batch of bread, doubling the amount they have on hand, then use half of it for their next day's baking.

                            in reply to: What are You Cooking the Week of March 18, 2018? #11623
                            Mike Nolan
                            Keymaster

                              I've been making my own marinara with the tomato sauce I made last summer (no salt added) plus I add a can of no-salt-added tomatoes to it, and some herbs (basil, oregano, marjoram and thyme)

                              in reply to: Thanks for the Email #11622
                              Mike Nolan
                              Keymaster

                                It did seem to bring out a few lurkers, or maybe they just hadn't been authorized to post yet.

                                I shouldn't have to send an email like that very often.

                                in reply to: Pastry cross for Hot Cross Buns #11601
                                Mike Nolan
                                Keymaster

                                  Wow, nice research!

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